For any deck X, if enough supportive cards are printed and enough improvements are made, deck X will become a tier one deck and having incredible winrate. Then deck X will dominate tournaments, then peoples write in forums to suggest banning X, then one day X appears on the banlist and those lost to X celebrate whole night.
It is a PUNISHMENT for being improved. It's not fair to those spent so much time to design and playtest and tune his deck. The story is now teaching us that, if one deck wanna stay alive, it better stays low, has some unpreventable fatal flaws, and lose some or most tournaments. So everyone will be happy. But is this what you want to see?
I am ok to say goodbye to any single card, but I personally am against this banning concept.
All decks must have unpreventable fatal flaws. If a deck does not have Archimedes Heel, it's a broken deck that destroys the meta.
And even if a deck has Archimedes Heel, if it's too strong of a deck where it pushes out an entire archetype (like Derevi and Zur) it still should get banned in the interest of promoting diversity.
Just to note, Torpor Orb does not stop Prossh, as Prossh reads: Whenever you CAST Prossh, so it doesn't actually care whether Prossh enters the battlefield or not, the player will still get the Kobolds.
Also, you can try a less combo-y more resilient build, play Lead the stampede over cloudstone. It's not easy to combo off (or at least fizzling is extremely common) but Lead rebuilds your hand really quickly.
And, how do you guys SB in general for Elves?
I find it so hard to take pieces out because all the pieces are needed so I just typically shave a couple things (some dorks, some pacts, and the like)
Is the Nacatl the only solution for aggro? I belive it is not.
Modern is a non-rotating format, and new cards can enter the card pool to solve those issues, E1 and BTE are the proof that this can happen. Both did give a huge improvement to zoo aggro, well it was still not enough, but that shows that aggro can be improved without nacatl.
Nacatl is not the only solution for aggro, and is not even a good solution. It will solve one problem by bringing back another.
Aggro needs some pushing? Yes, but this should be done with the printing of new cards, that way, not only Naya Zoo will be able to rise, but also other aggro decks that already see fringe play.
With or without Nacatl, I think there will only be 3 real/pure aggro decks that can survive anyways.
Every aggro deck competes with other aggro decks in the same slot (uninteractive, Sligh, Swarm), and there is typically only one deck per slot. Mainly because one deck just does "uninteractive" or "swarm" better.
Nacatl won't push out Affinity, and I don't think it will push out Burn either. The thing it will push out is the other sligh decks, because the sligh decks are artificially filling that aggro spot, not because they're good. And any printing of a new card will probably do the same thing if it's strong enough to be competitive.
If you're saying it'll push out Tempo decks, I'm not too sure about that, but it could.
So, your amended rules text would have to read as follows:
Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on top of your library.
Probably, it's would just be a looting effect with upside for miracles and delver. I don't know if it's strong enough to make miracles see play, but I think it has enough potential.
I intentionally designed it to be heavily restricted. Originally, it was useful only as a weak tempo play (blanking opponent's next draw) or as a weak Miracle enabler. With the order reversed, you also can protect key cards from discard, and it's an even better Miracle enabler. That might be too strong, though.
Oh, I didn't see target player. In that case, the previous ordering is fine, but I think blanking someone's draw step and then drawing a card is way too strong in the first place.
It becomes a fragment of Brainstorm, for what it's worth.
What about adding something along the lines of
"until end of turn, that player may draw a card" ?
That way you can tuck a card away from hand disruption or something, and yet still be able to draw it.
Until end of turn is weird, but it would work too.
I just didn't like the previous concept because it did nothing but waste a card if you couldn't miracle it. This way allows you to dodge discard effects really well while still being able to shuffle away cards you don't like, and it's still not super powerful since it's still card disadvantage.
This would need to be printed outside a Standard-legal set. Also, I'd like to see a restricted Miracle enabler that isn't as strong as Brainstorm. So,
Temporary Forgetfulness - U
Instant
Target player puts a card from his or her hand on top of his or her library.
Draw a card.
I think that should be in reverse order. Yes, you get to instantly miracle your stuff, but it just doesn't do anything otherwise. If you reverse it, it plays well with Fetchlands and Delver too.
There isn't a need, but are you losing anything from it?
If you're doing 3 colors already, I'd probably be hesitant in adding green. If you're currently in mono color you lose absolutely nothing splashing another color. So I would, but if you don't want to you don't have to. You should however, be adding 8 fetches in the first place so you can make use of DRS's first ability.
Thanks for the feedback. Do You have any suggestion for my last mainboard slot? I think my discard package is fine, would you add a removal, a sideboard card like SoLaS / fulminator mage / linvala or a 5 mana bomb like Blood Baron or Batterskull?
I would probably play a one of path in that last slot to at least give you an out to some random creatures.
If you're completely content with your removal package, I'd either play Linvala or Elspeth if you're not worried about the white mana costs, and maybe a Loxodon Smiter if you are.
That's kind of an edge case, unless you're playing like 12 fetches, in which case I don't mind
The main reason to print such a card is for blue to fight fast decks like aggro. Fast decks like aggro are *supposed* to be blue controls weakness. As it is, if you ask anyone how to make your deck resistant to counter-spelling, the answer you will usually get is 'make your deck faster and more consistent, like Jund', if fast consistent decks become vulnerable to blue control, then how will keep blue control in line?
Well you're still paying a significant amount of life and going down in cards. I don't think that FoW would be that great against zoo. However, I wouldn't have a problem with it being pay 3 or more life or something either. I just kinda want something that's really good against combo decks (like FoW) so we can remove a number of cards off the banlist.
Doesn't really seem that overpowered to me, since it's really only useful in the early game.
It has a strong possibility to just win the game right there. Turn one, this thing, "oh you kept a land with 3 fetches? GG". I don't know if Wizards would print this kind of effect just because of something like that, but it is less useful on the draw so it's probably not too bad.
Vernal Surge is similar to several of the land enchantments, only in instant mode. Effervescent Prism doesn't strike me as that different than Chromatic Lantern. It has the advantage that it works for all mana sources, but it doesn't produce mana itself by tapping. Is there some specific application you had in mind for it? Mana dorks?
I'd probably try and build a combo deck with Waste Not, this thing, and various wheel-like effects if this was printed. I don't know how good it would be, but it would probably be fun.
Also, I'd love to see a FoW-esque card (though I know Wizards would never print it). Something like this:
Bad FoW, Irrelevant Mana cost
counter target spell
You may cast ~ instead of paying it's irrelevant mana cost by exiling a blue card and paying 2 life. If it is your turn and target spell was countered this way, end the turn.
Screw the Mindslaver lock. So annoying. So I made a card that your opponent basically can do absolutely nothing about. Yeah its narrow and wordy, but it WILL get you out of the lock.
Ruined Shrine
Land
:symtap:: Add 1 to your mana pool.
Sacrifice another land, Exile CARDNAME from your hand, from the battlefield, or from your graveyard: Exile target legendary land an opponent controls.
Barring them having two legendary lands on the battlefield, they basically can't do anything to stop this from breaking the lock.
Seeing how this doesn't beat the Mindslaver Lock mid combo, you could just play the other answers to the lock instead?
You have to have this land already in play before he mindslavers you, so I don't really get the point to this answer.
And If I were a combo deck trying to protect a combo while going off, I'd play Pact.
Well what about Sneak and Show?
You aren't going to be playing pact because you don't win that turn, and this is just better than Spell Pierce because it's rare for them to care if their opponent has another creature.
All decks must have unpreventable fatal flaws. If a deck does not have Archimedes Heel, it's a broken deck that destroys the meta.
And even if a deck has Archimedes Heel, if it's too strong of a deck where it pushes out an entire archetype (like Derevi and Zur) it still should get banned in the interest of promoting diversity.
Also, you can try a less combo-y more resilient build, play Lead the stampede over cloudstone. It's not easy to combo off (or at least fizzling is extremely common) but Lead rebuilds your hand really quickly.
And, how do you guys SB in general for Elves?
I find it so hard to take pieces out because all the pieces are needed so I just typically shave a couple things (some dorks, some pacts, and the like)
With or without Nacatl, I think there will only be 3 real/pure aggro decks that can survive anyways.
Every aggro deck competes with other aggro decks in the same slot (uninteractive, Sligh, Swarm), and there is typically only one deck per slot. Mainly because one deck just does "uninteractive" or "swarm" better.
Nacatl won't push out Affinity, and I don't think it will push out Burn either. The thing it will push out is the other sligh decks, because the sligh decks are artificially filling that aggro spot, not because they're good. And any printing of a new card will probably do the same thing if it's strong enough to be competitive.
If you're saying it'll push out Tempo decks, I'm not too sure about that, but it could.
Probably, it's would just be a looting effect with upside for miracles and delver. I don't know if it's strong enough to make miracles see play, but I think it has enough potential.
Oh, I didn't see target player. In that case, the previous ordering is fine, but I think blanking someone's draw step and then drawing a card is way too strong in the first place.
Until end of turn is weird, but it would work too.
I just didn't like the previous concept because it did nothing but waste a card if you couldn't miracle it. This way allows you to dodge discard effects really well while still being able to shuffle away cards you don't like, and it's still not super powerful since it's still card disadvantage.
I think that should be in reverse order. Yes, you get to instantly miracle your stuff, but it just doesn't do anything otherwise. If you reverse it, it plays well with Fetchlands and Delver too.
If you're doing 3 colors already, I'd probably be hesitant in adding green. If you're currently in mono color you lose absolutely nothing splashing another color. So I would, but if you don't want to you don't have to. You should however, be adding 8 fetches in the first place so you can make use of DRS's first ability.
I would probably play a one of path in that last slot to at least give you an out to some random creatures.
If you're completely content with your removal package, I'd either play Linvala or Elspeth if you're not worried about the white mana costs, and maybe a Loxodon Smiter if you are.
Well you're still paying a significant amount of life and going down in cards. I don't think that FoW would be that great against zoo. However, I wouldn't have a problem with it being pay 3 or more life or something either. I just kinda want something that's really good against combo decks (like FoW) so we can remove a number of cards off the banlist.
It has a strong possibility to just win the game right there. Turn one, this thing, "oh you kept a land with 3 fetches? GG". I don't know if Wizards would print this kind of effect just because of something like that, but it is less useful on the draw so it's probably not too bad.
I'd probably try and build a combo deck with Waste Not, this thing, and various wheel-like effects if this was printed. I don't know how good it would be, but it would probably be fun.
Also, I'd love to see a FoW-esque card (though I know Wizards would never print it). Something like this:
Bad FoW, Irrelevant Mana cost
counter target spell
You may cast ~ instead of paying it's irrelevant mana cost by exiling a blue card and paying 2 life. If it is your turn and target spell was countered this way, end the turn.
Seeing how this doesn't beat the Mindslaver Lock mid combo, you could just play the other answers to the lock instead?
You have to have this land already in play before he mindslavers you, so I don't really get the point to this answer.
Also, Ghost Quarter
Well what about Sneak and Show?
You aren't going to be playing pact because you don't win that turn, and this is just better than Spell Pierce because it's rare for them to care if their opponent has another creature.